Community Dojo
Autodesk Group Network Website
  • Welcome to the Community Dojo
  • What's New?
    • NEW Community Conversations
    • ARCHIVE: AU2020 Community Meetups
    • CONTEST: Design a Virtual Background
    • Groups during COVID
  • Best Practice Guides
    • Getting Started with the Guides
    • FIRST: Start with a Simple Spark
    • Starting a Community Group
      • Tips for starting groups
      • Group mission & vision
      • Setting ground rules & etiquette
    • Running a Group
      • Tips for running groups
      • Community management & engagement
      • Partnerships & sponsorship
    • Hosting Events
      • Event strategy
      • Pre-event planning checklist
      • Event facilitation
      • Larger events
      • Event marketing
      • Tips for events
    • Tools for Groups
      • Tips for community tools
      • Tools list & links
      • Survey Results (2020): Community Tools
      • Autodesk's Meetup Pro Network
    • Online Groups
      • Tips for online groups
    • Company Practice Groups
      • Tips for company practice groups
  • Resources for Group Network
    • Benefits Guide
      • Welcome Guide
    • Brand Guidelines for Groups
    • Content & Speaker Database
    • Public Roadmap
    • Group Leader Hub
  • Contribute!
  • Get Support!
  • Creative Commons License
  • About the Autodesk Group Network
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Speakers & content
  • Venues
  • Engage to improve

Was this helpful?

  1. Best Practice Guides
  2. Hosting Events

Event strategy

Clarify considerations like goals, audience, and format. That helps you decide on content, speakers, and venue/ platform.

PreviousHosting EventsNextPre-event planning checklist

Last updated 4 years ago

Was this helpful?

What's the goal of the event? Are you looking to share information? Create relationships? Explore something new together?

  • Is the audience clearly defined?

  • Choose an event name that is clear, compelling, and exciting.

    • Create consistent naming and branding as a group over time

  • Choose an event format that meets your goals and is appropriate to your audience. Formats include...

    • Presentations

    • Tutorials

    • / roundtables

    • Show-and-tell/ case study

    • Workshops

    • Co-working, hackathons, or other generative formats

  • Does it hang together? Have you chosen a format, name, venue, and time that will be compelling to your audience and will meet your goals?

  • can incorporate any of the formats above.

  • See for tips on getting the word out

Speakers & content

  • Check out to get inspired on potential topics for meetings.

  • Check out the to find guest speakers and presentation-ready decks to use at your next event.

  • Try to get people from the group to present. Presenting can lead to more group leadership & ownership.

  • Other places to source speakers

    • AU speakers

    • Expert Elites

    • Resellers

    • It looks good and and attracts people.

    • It acknowledges presenters’ expertise and helps them get their personal brand out there.

  • If you do really advanced topics, you’ll have a smaller event. But that might be what you want.

Venues

  • Venues might include

    • Offices

      • Autodesk partner offices

    • Bars/ restaurants

    • Schools/ classrooms

    • Conference centers

  • Choose a venue or online platform to match your format & goals

    • Don't be afraid to rearrange the furniture to enable people flow and conversation, based on your goals & agenda.

  • Location, location, location - it’s crucial!

    • Accessibility by public transport

    • Parking availability

    • Compelling space or neighborhood - where people want to go

    • If you're in a major city, find a central location to host the event so everyone can attend and drive the same distance.

  • It's a good idea to create a spreadsheet of local venues that your group might use, with contact information. This is a good shared resource for leaders.

  • Make sure you know any rules that might be imposed by the venue (e.g. no outside food)

    • Be careful of food and drink costs at venues like conference centers. They may be significantly marked-up.

  • Do a site visit

The online meeting technology you choose essentially becomes the venue if your event is virtual.

Engage to improve

Post the pictures of the people who’ll be presenting at your event, link to their website or LinkedIn page. (Example: )

Autodesk offices, if you're near one and there's space available ()

For , you may need a venue that offers multiple rooms.

See for more on virtual meeting technology

- for Autodesk Group Network members.

DFWIUG Past Speakers list
Tips for Group Tools
Autodesk University Online
Group Network's Speaker & Content Database
Submit questions, feedback, or suggestions on hosting events
Connect with a peer mentor on hosting events
access codes listed here
Become a peer mentor
Panels
Unconference/ Open Space
User group meetings
Event Marketing
larger events
contact us